


Australia

by happyaspie



Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [22]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Anxious Peter Parker, Childhood Memories, Children's Stories, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Memories, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Platonic Cuddling, Precious Peter Parker, Sleepy Cuddles, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, peter parker needs sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-09-06 07:10:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20287474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: Peter is tired.  Too tired for school.  Too tired to eat.  Too tired to focus.  His mind wanders to an old book that his uncle used to read to him.  He can't seem to get it out of his head and soon he finds himself trying to incoherently explain it all to his confused yet decidedly understanding mentor.





	Australia

As Peter sat in his third Period class he was watching the number on the clock. There was still twenty minutes until they broke off for lunch and he wasn't sure he was going to be able to sit in his chair that long without one of two things happening. Either his eyes closing or his heart racing. There didn't seem to be an in between at the moment. He'd woken up in the middle of the night to a nightmare that he couldn't even remember but even without the lingering details, the unease was still there. Even after all of the hours that had passed his chest was still tight and his body tingling with anxiety. Not in the same way his spider-sense warned him of things, this was different. He felt on edge for no good reason and the unnecessary worry was making even the smallest task feel daunting. Then again, he wasn't really certain that the feeling was stemming from the nightmare. It could have just as easily been from the complete lack of sleep. Going to bed at midnight only to be awake for the day by two was enough to make anyone on edge, he supposed.

Sitting at his desk completely zoned out, he vaguely remembered a story that his uncle used to read him when he was small. It was about a young boy having a terrible day. In the story, the boy had been certain that moving to Australia would solve all of his problems. At the moment, he could sympathize because even if horribly, bad... or tiredly, anxious kinds of days could still happen in Australia, surely they wouldn't seem less so there. As he sat, his brain began to drift further and further away from the classroom. He was soon staring off into space, imaging what a day in Australia would be like and how it would_ definitely_ be better when he was abruptly pulled from his thoughts.

"Mr. Parker!", the teacher shouted again, in an attempt to get him to turn his head away from the clock and back to the front of the room. "The bell rang. You need to get to lunch."

Nodding his head, Peter sluggishly shuffled his way down the hall and quickly put a lunch together. He hadn't even begun to start eating yet when Ned sat down beside him. "Dude, what's up with you today. I didn't see your take one singular note during history class this morning and then you didn't meet me at my locker before lunch.", the boy complained as he set his tray onto the table. 

"Sorry, Ned. It's been a weird day.", Peter tried to explain. He'd never really talked to Ned about the majority of his nighttime struggles nor the anxiety that sometimes lingered. He wasn't sure if it was normal or not and he really didn't want his friend to think he was crazy.

"weird how? _Like Spider-man weird_ or like, Peter weird", Ned asked in a low voice causing Peter to roll his eyes.

"It's an... off day.", Peter finally decided to explain after some quiet thought. He really wanted to say more, in hopes of calming his nerves, yet he opted to remain vague. "I can't shake the feeling that something bad's going to happen and my brain keeps wandering. I'm probably just tired. I didn't sleep much.", he said, leaving out the part about the nightmare. Though the omittance seemed to be for not seeing as Ned's eyes were now filled with nothing but concern.

While thankful that Ned wasn't looking at him like he was crazy the apprehensive look he was receiving was nearly as bad. He didn't say anything and neither did Ned for quite a while. When Ned did speak up again Peter could hear the unease coating his voice despite his casual posture.

Eventually, it became clear enough to Ned that nothing he could say or do was going to be able to pull his friend back to the present. He'd barely looked at his lunch, let alone eaten any of it and any time he'd tried to point that out, Peter'd just nodded his head and went back to staring out the window. "Maybe you should go home...", he eventually suggested trying to sound less bothered than he actually felt.

"Because May needs to work and I'm not sick. I just feel... weird...anxious.", Peter rapidly explained just before the bell rang to end lunch. Realizing he hadn't taken a singular bite he sighed. "Maybe I should go home. ...but that makes me feel anxious too."

Shoving the last few bites of his own food into his mouth, Ned stood to return his now empty tray. "You could always call Mr. Stark."

"Why would I call Tony?", Peter asked in confusion. Sure he was hanging out with the man all the time now and he spent the night at his house most weekends but it's not like he was his parent or anything. 

"I don't know.", Ned said with another shrug of his shoulders. "You just always seem happier after you talk to him. Maybe it would help."

Taking a moment to contemplate if that was true or not, Peter didn't realize he'd once again allowed his mind to drift but this time it was to Tony's lab. He _was_ happiest there. Maybe that was _his_ Australia... Maybe Tony would take him to _actual _Australia if he asked... Just as he was starting to picture himself and Tony exiting a private jet and walking into the Sydney Opera House he was once again startled from his thoughts. 

"Peter!", Ned called urgently in his direction. "We've got to go! Just leave your tray there."

Having decided that school was not the place to be that day, the first thing Peter did when he made it back to class was to ask the teacher for a chance to use the restroom. He'd been somewhat worried that the man was going to deny him, seeing as they'd just come from lunch but he didn't. He seemed to know something was wrong and was looking at him with the same concern that had crossed Ned's face earlier, as he handed over the laminated hall pass.

Once safely behind the bathroom door, Peter took his phone out of his pocket and allowed his finger to hover over Tony's name. As he did so, a brand new wave anxiety began to bloom in his chest, telling him that if he didn't hold his breath and make the call right then, that he was never going to. So, he took in a breath and held it as he waited to see if the man would answer his phone or not.

"Pete? It's eleven-forty-five... aren't you in school?", Tony asked without greeting the moment the two lines connected. 

Finally letting out the breath he's been holding Peter tried to come up with a good reason for him to be calling in the middle of the day. The truth didn't sound like a good enough excuse and he'd not taken the time to come up with an alternative. "I am at school. I, I was... I needed to ask you something.", rapidly spat out without considering that he'd now locked himself into coming up with a relevant question. 

"Okay...", Tony replied in confusion. "Well, I'm in a meeting so you're going to need to make it quick."

Suddenly feeling more anxious than he ever had before in his life, Peter was back to holding his breath. He'd interrupted Tony at work. Of course, he did. He was a busy man. Between owning a company and being an Avenger, he had meetings all the time and calling him had probably been a bad idea. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark!", he spouted out all at once when his lungs could no longer hold the air he'd taken in.

Taken aback by the sudden reappearance of his formal title, Tony excused himself from the conference room, he'd been seated in. "Kid? Why are you calling me Mr. Stark? You haven't called me that in months. What's going on?"

Peter _knew_ he needed to say something. You don't get asked a question by Tony stark and not answer it but his brain was running on overdrive and he couldn't find any words. He could literally feel the seconds ticking by while simultaneously feeling as if it were standing still. Like a clock with a broken second hand and as he was trying to decide if time was actually passing or not, he heard Tony in his ear again.

"Pete. Do I need to come and get you?", he asked because the boy had never been so quiet. It made him worry, maybe more than it should have but something definitely wasn't right. 

Having felt vulnerable since abruptly waking up well before dawn, Peter took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. "Yes.", he whispered out despite the fact that the majority of his brain was begging him to remain silent. 

"Are you safe? Where are you, kid?", Tony asked with concern, already exiting towards his vehicle. He'd never picked Peter up from school before, not like this and he wasn't even sure what that process looked like... or if the school would even let him check the kid out but something in him was demanding that he get to his kid immediately.

"School bathroom.", Peter answered simply whilst continuing to wish he was in Australia where he was sure that off days would feel less... off. He was just starting to try and decide if he'd meant Australia as in _the lab_ or_ actual_ Australia when he heard Tony talking to him again.

Having switched the call over to speaker once he'd entered the car, Tony raised his voice to be heard over the roar of the engine. "Think you can collect your stuff and meet me in the office?"

Peter nodded his head a few times without considering that no one could see him. Because of that, Tony prompted him again. After which he was able to give another soft 'yes.' before the call ended and he was wanding back to his classroom to retrieve his bag and then up towards the office. It didn't take much longer for Tony to suddenly appear at the front desk. Peter could see him looking his way. His jaw was clenched and his brow was knit together with creases or worry, making Peter feel small as if he were going to be in trouble despite the fact he'd done nothing really wrong. '_Except pull him from an important meeting_', his brain unhelpfully supplied.

As it turned out, May'd had the foresight to add Tony's name to his contacts list and Tony signing Peter out had been an easy task. He was soon waving Peter forward and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, guiding him out the door, towards the waiting car. Even after they were both seated inside, Tony made no move to put the car into gear. Instead, he continued to study Peter who was sitting subdued beside him. "Pete.", he finally said softly, though Peter remained silent and somewhat fidgety beside him. "What's going on in that head of your's right now, huh?"

Blowing a long breath out of his nose, Peter turned slightly towards the man beside him. "It's been a weird day, Tony... and I wish I was in Australia.", he said realizing too late that he'd made no sense. 

Nodding his head even though he was feeling completely lost, Tony reached out a hand and brushed over the boy's forehead. When he didn't feel exceptionally warm he sighed. "Weird how Buddy?"

Instead of answering the question, Peter felt compelled to explain the latter part of his earlier reply. "There's a book. A kid's book about a boy who has a bad day and he wants to move to Australia. His mom tells him that bad days happen there too but I don't think they do."

Having gone from feeling lost to thoroughly confused, Tony reached a hand across the center console and placed it on Peter's lightly shaking knee. "Are you having a bad day?", he asked, trying desperately to grasp at whatever the kid was trying to tell him. 

Peter felt automatically more relaxed at his mentor's touch and absentmindedly placed his own hand on top of Tony's grasping it gently. "Not like in the book. Nothing bad has happened. I just feel... off... like something bad _is going_ to happen."

Suddenly feeling a bit alarmed, Tony's eyes went wide. "Your spider-senses?"

"Not like that, no. This is different, I'm not sure. It doesn't make sense.", Peter attempted to explain. He knew he wasn't doing a good job of it but they were still sitting outside of the school and he was acutely aware that the people from the office were still staring at them through the window. "Can we go home, now?"

That request made Tony smile because he knew that _in this case_, Peter was referring to _his_ home and not the apartment that he shared with his aunt. "Yeah, Buddy. We can go home."

"Can we get something to eat? I, I might have missed lunch.", Peter sheepishly added, embarrassed at himself for being so out of it that he'd literally forgotten to eat. Though, at this point, his stomach wasn't willing to allow him to forget it again. It was relentlessly cramping with emptiness.

"We can do that too.", Tony replied with a smile as he pulled into the fast food place on the corner. "What do you want?"

"Anything. I don't care.", Peter replied in earnest. Nothing sounded good. His only real goal was to mollify his complaining stomach.

Tony didn't say anything else and proceeded to order the kid a large meal and hand it over. Peter nodded in thanks and Tony continued to worry over the near silence but didn't address it. Not until they were inside of the penthouse. "Alright, kid. We're home and you've got food in you. Think you can tell me what's going on now? You're scaring me a little bit, Buddy.", Tony admitted while ushering Peter towards the couch. He'd never known Peter to be so quiet but then again, he looked exhausted and maybe that was it.

"I feel... wrong, Tony. Like, nervous or something.", Peter again tried to explain while gnawing on his bottom lip. It wasn't unusual for him to feel anxious from time to time and nightmares like his would make anyone feel a little on edge but he'd never carried the feeling for this long before. Usually, it would fade as the morning passed and he wasn't clear why it hadn't this time. Maybe it was because he'd been out patrolling entirely too late all week long. Maybe it was because he'd never gone back to sleep the night before. Maybe it was a combination of the two. 

Smiling softly at the boy beside him, Tony asked, "What would help?"

Peter considered answering that because he knew exactly what would help. He wanted someone to hold him tight and tell him things were going to be fine. Deciding that saying that out loud sounded childish, he tried to shake the thoughts from his head. "I don't know. I wish-- never mind."

"...that you were in Australia?", Tony suggested with a smile. He still didn't understand what the kid had been talking about but he threw it out there anyway. If nothing else but to prove he'd been listening. 

"No. ...well, maybe a little bit but that's not what I was going to say.", Peter replied with a smile. He didn't know why his mind kept going there or why he'd felt the need to mention it to Tony. It had slipped off of his tongue without thought, really. 

"What were you going to say?", Tony asked softly. He wanted to know. He needed to know. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to make this kid feel better and he was willing to do whatever that took. "What do you wish, Pete?"

Sighing because he couldn't bring himself to tell his mentor that what he wished for was physical reassurance, he swallowed and wrapped his arms around his own torso. "It's not important."

Just because Tony was considered emotionally stunted didn't mean that he was oblivious to the feelings of others. He could read social cues just fine and Peter's posture was screaming 'comfort me'. So, he turned his body and opened his arms in invitation. "Come here.", he said, preparing himself to take on the weight of a teenaged boy and all of the troubles that were following him.

There was no hesitation. Peter fell into his mentor's arms with a breath of relief. The tighter the man held him the more his body relaxed. The pressure was something to focus on. It kept his mind in the present and made him feel safe enough to let the worry go. "I'm so tired, Tony. I didn't get much sleep last night.", Peter mumbled into the man's shirt after several minutes of basking in the affection he was being offered. 

Already aware of the graphic nightmares that had occasionally plagued the kid for years, he didn't even question it. "Couldn't get back to sleep, huh?"

"I've been anxious ever since. I don't even know what I dreamed about."

"Maybe you need a nap, kid.", Tony suggested before giving the boy one last squeeze and relinquishing his hold. "Come on, let's get you in bed.", Tony said but Peter made no effort to stand. Rather he continued to lean onto Tony with his head resting comfortably by the man's shoulder. From there, Tony's arm wrapped naturally around the boy, pulling him in more closely.

"Can, can we stay like this for a little while, Tony", Peter asked hesitantly. He wasn't ready to give up the comfortable position he was in. Here he felt safe and the anxiety couldn't touch him but he also knew that Tony more than likely needed to get back to his meetings. "I mean unless you need to get back to work. I know you're always busy."

"That can wait. All of that can wait", Tony said honestly. He'd hired Pepper for that very reason. Well, sort of. The goal had been to free up his time. To allow him to focus on other things. Of course, when he'd done so, he'd never imagined that he'd eventually spend a decent amount of that time, encouraging and consoling a teenaged boy. In fact, had anyone ever tried to tell him such, he would have laughed in their face and sent them off for a mental evaluation. "I'd rather be with you anyway."

"Are you sure?", Peter asked with guarded hope.

"Very sure.", Tony confirmed before leaning in to kiss the boy right on top of his head. When that caused Peter to relax further he smiled to himself. "Are you feeling any better, kiddo?"

Feeling contented and perfectly at ease for the first time that day Peter hummed in satisfaction. "Yeah, actually I am." 

"Still wish you were in Australia?", Tony questioned with a small laugh.

Smiling in return, Peter reached around Tony's body to hug him as best he could without moving around too much. "No. I'm good right, here, Tony. With you.", he said with a stifled yawn. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with him.

"Why don't you close your eyes.", Tony suggested. He already knew that Peter was tired and he really hoped he wouldn't resist sleep for much longer. Mostly because he was sure that once the boy was no longer completely exhausted he would more than likely feel less antsy and as much as he was enjoying the cuddling... he missed his hyperactive and talkative kid.

"Will you stay with me?", Peter asked as he pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch and settled his head on Tony's Thigh, relishing in the way the man, in turn, began to run his hand up and down his arm and occasionally through is hair.

"I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be, Pete.", he replied without a moment's hesitation. 

Yawning again, Peter looked up at Tony with a tired smile. "Not even Australia?"

"Not unless you're coming with me."

Peter nodded and rolled back onto his side, tucking the blanket he'd retrieved tightly under his chin. "Hmm... Maybe after I take a nap."

"Sure, kid. After you take a nap.", Tony laughed. Australia was somewhere he'd never even considered visiting but it was suddenly at the top of his list of places to go. With Peter... with May's permission. He needed a vacation anyway. Maybe Peter did too and with summer right around the corner, he could make that happen. He found himself getting genuinely excited by the prospect and was already planning it all out in his head when Peter breathing evened out in a deep sleep. Looking down at his kid, Tony smiled and whispered, mostly to himself, "Australia, it is."

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone is curious... The book Peter refers to in this story is [Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alexander-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day-judith-viorst/1100238460#/)


End file.
